Boy, how times have changed! We were discussing the Sinclair C5 in the office this week and many here had never even heard of it, let alone seen one!

Launched during a by-gone age (1985!), it became an object of media and popular ridicule during 1980s Britain and was a commercial disaster, selling only around 17,000 units, although according to Sinclair, it was “the best selling electric vehicle” until November 2011 when the Nissan Leaf had sold over 20,000 units.

Ah, 1985. What was management like in those days? Well, many managers could get away with what today would be decidedly un-PC behaviour and get rid of people almost on a whim.

How have management techniques changed over the years? That was the subject of our discussions after we had had a few giggles at the C5′s expense.

And we reckon we have come up with today’s management ideas in a nutshell.

Your job as manager today is to create a climate that encourages and values the contribution of each person to the team effort. Your people’s energies should be directed towards problem solving, task effectiveness and achievement of your goals. Your energies should be directed at providing the best possible conditions that allow your people to contribute effectively.

Quite a change, I’m sure you’ll agree. Better, as well? We think so.

How do you encourage people? How do you make sure their energies help you achieve your goals? How do you provide the conditions for people to grow and thrive?

Today’s manager simply has to be a good leader as well. Management skills refer to the hard skills that are necessary to get the job done. Leadership involves the softer skills that builds on the ideas people have, deals with the resistors they come up with, and gains the buy-in that is necessary to allow people to motivate themselves to achieve the goals you need to hit.

A far cry from those halcyon days when Clive Sinclair ruled the electronic vehicle world. Tell the truth, not sure if I could actually have fitted in one!

Thanks again

Nick

Nick Hill

Training Director

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

We had an interesting question this week on our management course that opened up a good discussion on leadership.

The question came from a new manager who had been promoted from among his peers and was now managing people who were much more knowledgeable and experienced than he was. His question was how should he manage such people.

My reply was…”Don’t!”

By that, I meant don’t try to manage them. Managing someone who has more ability, experience or knowledge than you do has its pitfalls and its benefits. By managing them, you stifle their creativity and innovation. I asked the manager why he felt it necessary to actually manage the knowledgeable ex-peer. That opened up a new topic as to how much autonomy and responsibility the person should have, and if he should be managed at all.

The group suggested that he should lead the other person, allowing him to show leadership qualities himself. Trying to ‘manage’ wouldn’t work.

Instead, the leader should:

* Discuss what roles and responsibilities the person should have, and agree on how those should be carried out

* Agree any targets that should be set for the subordinate

* Give them the freedom and authority to achieve those targets themselves, with the manager holding the resource purse strings and the accountability

* Set parameters for the ex-peer to work to, but allow them to control it

* Concentrate on results rather than methods

* Use the experience of the ex-peer to drive things forward, supporting their decisions and allowing them to create further opportunities

* Encourage them to share their experiences and learn from them

* Ensure you, as manager, take full responsibility for their results, and help them achieve higher goals if possible

What you’re trying to do is create the environment for the ex-peer to still contribute to the success of the department without feeling that he has been overlooked or that his experience is of no value. On the contrary, it is of great value and should be seen to be that way by all team members.

So, don’t try and manage this kind of employee…keep their motivation and creativity going by showing excellence in leadership.

Thanks again

Mark

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

 (Images by Renjith Krishnan)

What is your vision for your company, your department or yourself? Now, before you think this is going to be missive full of woo-woo and incantations, I’m talking about those common goals and compelling views of the future that help others, as well as yourself, relate to personal goals and those of the business as a whole. Such visions connect people to a common aspiration and purpose.

Many companies we visit to consult with have their visions on display, often in the reception or boardroom. But, whenever we ask how they are being applied within everyday interactions, we are often disappointed by the replies. The visions and missions are lofty aspirations, but the quality of the integration into the workplace leaves a lot to be desired.

So how can you turn the vision into reality, so it isn’t just left as a set of platitudes, dreamed up in some long-forgotten directors’ away-day?

To establish an effective strategy to make the vision work for your people, ask yourself these questions:

* What does the vision mean for what we do and the ways we behave in our part of the company?

* If it’s a centrally-located or international vision, how can we give ourselves a local sense of mission and commitment?

* What can we do on a daily basis that contributes toward achieving the vision?

* What do we do in our daily work that impedes us in achieving the vision?

* What feedback can we as a team give to management about how we can improve the application of the vision?

* How can I personally set the example to others about how to live up to the vision?

The answers to these questions require you to be prepared to commit in practical and behavioural terms to the applications of the vision. You must share the elements of the vision to all team members to make sure it really means something, and isn’t lost in the ether. You must put it across in an inspiring and motivational way, so your people want to commit to it. And you must constantly re-inforce the vision.

Make sure you involve the team in these discussions. Resist the temptation simply to tell them what they should do. To get buy-in, they must be involved in all the discussions so they really feel involved in the way forward.

The vision is the forward-looking direction the company wants to go. If it’s inspiring to others, it drives momentum and motivation. So if it’s a good vision, it’s worth investing your time into making it become reality.

Thanks again

Mark 

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

Of all the challenges we hear managers facing these days, the aspect of being able to manage their own time is very often top of the list. It’s not because we have less time; it’s that the demands on us these days are so great, we have difficulty in identifying the best use of our time, and often submit to the ‘busy’ rather than the ‘effective’.

Of course, the best way to determine where your time is going is to record what’s happening each day. If you find some of these problems are affecting your day-to-day management of your time, think of what could be done to overcome them. Here are some suggestions:

* Work Piling Up – You need to set priorities, and determine the difference between urgent and important. How many times have you gone home from work and realised you’ve been really busy, but not actually accomplished very much? That shows you’ve been working on the urgent at the expense of the important. Set yourself realistic deadlines and see if you can keep to them. And delegate more often!

* Trying to do too much – As stated before, you must set priorities. If it’s impossible to get everything done, ask which deadlines could be changed. Learn to say no, because if you take on more work, everything else will suffer, especially your stress levels.

* Procrastination – Break tasks down into manageable chunks. Approach it from a different angle. If the task will take 3 hours, do 20 minutes now, 30 minutes later, and so on. You need to control it, rather than it controlling you.

* People interrupting you – Make appointments and ask people to stick to them. If people just drop in, tell them you will get back to them when you can give them 100% attention.

* Phone calls interrupting you – Tell them you will call them back. Use voicemail, if practical. Batch phone calls you need to make all together, so you control the timings.

* Too many emails – Divide them into ‘act now, act later’. Have a special file to put the mails you will be dealing with later. Don’t let you inbox pile up, and try not to use it as your ‘pending’ file. Things will drop out of your view and you will forget them. Create rules for emails coming in. Try not to keep your email server open all the time; emails will rule your time. Devote specific times of the day that you control to deal with emails.

* Too many meetings – Ah, the bugbear of many managers! Review all the meetings you attend and eliminate any that are unnecessary. Set limits to the time meetings take and stick to them. Have an agenda and stick to it. Be prepared for each meeting and identify how you can add value to them.

Naturally, there are many other time management situations you will have to deal with, but if you have the correct mindset to how you view time, you will concentrate on the solutions rather than the problems lack of time causes you.

Thanks again

Nick

Nick Hill

Training Director

MTD Management Training Course

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”

There’s a saying in the north of England that goes something like, ‘There’s nought so queer as folk!’

With apologies to our northern readers, the saying is absolutely correct. If you’ve ever had to have dealings with human beings, the best way you can describe different people is…well…different!

As managers we meet a complex mixture of characteristics in others, and the best managers we come across are those that can adapt to the strange ways of other folk.

You may recognise aspects of the personalities or behaviour in your colleagues in the following ‘types’.

* Lazy Shirkers – The best way to approach slackers and skivers who don’t do their share of work is to use involvement and feedback. Explain that you are having challenges and that you need help or suggestions. Tell them how you see it, and then ask for the person’s help in actually solving it. They may then offer to take their share of responsibility.

* The Buck-Passers  - These may do the barest minimum and try to shift responsibilities across to others, sometimes to give themselves an easy life, and sometimes to cover up some kind of deficiency in their abilities. You should get facts and information from job descriptions, team briefings and documents that define the responsibilities of the individual. Make sure you get their agreement to specific outlines of their obligations. Help them feel positive about taking on their responsibilities by encouraging their contributions and involvements.

* Pessimists and Negatives – If someone is consistently negative or pessimistic about things at work, don’t try to make them look at the positive side. These Kind of people will be able to justify every thought pattern they hold and they won’t want to be seen as wrong by having to ‘accentuate the positive’. Instead, calmly acknowledge there may be some truth in what the person is saying, and get their acknowledgement that things need to change, and what would they suggest would be an alternative.  Encourage them to be constructive, not just positive. Discuss responsibilities for the changes that would have to be made. Concentrate on what could be done, instead of reasons why they can’t. Ask them to come up with solutions; this way, they have to be looking forward instead of viewing things through dark-coloured glasses.

* Competitive Types – There are some who feel they have to constantly prove themselves, take credit for things and generally have to compete in one-upmanship. That’s just the way they are, I’m afraid. It could be they lack the self-confidence to face reality for what it really is, and have to cover up their own deficiencies by raising their self-esteem through hot air. Resist the temptation to indulge in competing with them; instead, emphasise the need for teamwork and stress common goals that you all should be working towards. That way, they may start thinking about how to collaborate instead of compete.

Whoever you have to deal with at work, there will be times when you need to be flexible and adaptable in your approach. If you face some of the people listed above, try out some of the ideas and see if you can influence their behaviour. Who knows, you may have an impact!

Thanks again

Mark

Mark Williams

Head of Training

MTD Management Training Course

(Image by David Castillo Dominici)

Click below for a:
Free email course “Improve your Management Skills”